CalARVC Placing 2012 Convention ‘on Hiatus’

July 26, 2012 by RVBusinessComments Off on CalARVC Placing 2012 Convention ‘on Hiatus’

The California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (CalARVC) has re-examined its stance on state conventions. Despite the desire and interest of CalARVC’s staff and board, a decision was made to put CalARVC’s convention on a hiatus. The reason is waning attendance, according to the association in this week’s edition of “Wednesday Morning Coffee Talk & Updates.”

CalARVC noted, “The financial and resource commitment to produce a convention is well over $100,000. Documented attendance at CalARVC and other industry conventions has been in a steady decline over the past six years. The board and staff decided that it could not risk the money to finance such a venture. You entrust us to spend your dues dollars wisely. Producing a convention is no longer a wise use of your membership dues.

“The question then becomes, ‘How do we provide education and networking opportunities for our members?’ ‘How do we connect the essential services of the industry’s suppliers with our member campgrounds?’ We are looking for a select group of CalARVC members and suppliers to help us figure out a new delivery model for these services. Our members have always brought home valuable information and insights from the convention. They have always connected and built relationships with each other and vendors. In this day and age of the Internet, smart phones and social media, fewer and fewer people are willing to take time off of work and invest in off-site meetings….even when they know and admit it was always worth the time and investment in the past.”